Thanks to Stone Island, NB's FuelCell Got Swole
Brand: Stone Island x New Balance Tokyo Design Studio
Model: FuelCell C_1
Release Date: July 25
Buy: Stone Island (07/25) & New Balance (07/28)
Editor's Notes: So far New Balance’s Stone Island collaborative relationship has been the epitome of room-dividing.
The pair’s FuelCell RC Elite v2s were a love-hate situation, while their take on the 574 from early 2023 was a more traditional take on the archival New Balance silhouette, with merely a Stone Island badge plastered on the tongue.
Unsurprisingly though, every pair released so far has sold-out almost immediately and appeared on resale sites for almost double the RRP within hours. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re good, of course.
Still, such is their collaborative popularity, the two labels will be reuniting this season for the Stone Island x New Balance Tokyo Design Studio FuelCell C_1: a visually expressive take on what a running shoe could look like.
Said to be inspired by the concept of how humans bridge the gap between man-made and cotton elements, the FuelCell C_1 features nontraditional forms, like manufactured synthetic with cotton engineered in one knit.
The sneaker also features synthetic overlays, a magnetic closure speed lacing system and a color palette and graphic pattern inspired by the archival Stone Island camouflage of Autumn Winter ‘90.
Prior to the reveal of the official images, the impending release of New Balance's Warped Runner fuelled suggestions that the latest Stone Island link-up could be a collaborative take on the new curvy silhouette. The continued popularity of styles like the 2002R and 610 also lent themselves nicely to a Stone Island collaboration, but alas here we are.
Still, a totally new style is more than welcomed too. Not least when it's New Balance and Stone Island involved.
This article was first published on July 13 and updated August 2.
